Roommates
by Copper's Mama
Summary: Daniel and Vala living together...hehe finished!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own stargate, just having fun with the characters

_Disclaimer: I don't own stargate, just having fun with the characters. _

General Landry felt as though he needed a double take, convinced he must have heard Jackson wrong.

"Say again?" he asked.

Daniel sighed. "I was requesting that Vala be allowed to live off-base," he repeated.

General Landry said, "Are you kidding me?"

He didn't miss Vala's raised eyebrows at his comment. "Yes, I know you have proven yourself trustworthy to this program, and I'm not saying that you would ... break the law if allowed to live off-base, but aside from the fact that you are an "alien", the last time we allowed Teal'c to live off-base, he was accused of murder, kidnapping, and had to move back on-base to prevent it from happening again."

Daniel sighed again. "Well, Sir, she wouldn't exactly be living on her own..."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, Sir, I've talked it over with Vala, the rest of SG-1, and General O'Neill, and we think it might be best, if she moved into my apartment."

Even Daniel had a hard time saying that with a straight face.

General Landry tried in vain to hold back a smile. "Vala, could you give us a moment alone?"

Vala looked at Daniel, and with his nod, left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

"I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to run this by me one more time," Hank said.

"Look. General, I can understand your reluctance, but Vala has made a remarkable turn-around, and keeping her cooped up on the base forever is just going to end badly. Now I know she's not exactly everyone's favorite person, but for the most part, she seems to listen to me, and this provides an opportunity for not only her, but for us as well. By letting her live off-base, I'm hoping she won't be as "bored" as she is here, trust me that will do wonders for my credit rating, and showing her that we trust her could go a long way. I'm not saying this could have some bad consequences, but I think' it's worth the risk."

Daniel took a breath, waiting for a response.

"Sir? Could you at least consider it?"

Hank smiled. "You had me at credit rating. Bring her back in here, please."

Daniel smiled, hurrying to the door, to let Vala in, not surprised that she had her ear up to the door.

"Here are my terms, Miss Mal Doran."

Vala stood straight, a bright smile on her face.

"You will consider this a probationary period. First, we'll see how you fare after a week, it that goes well, we'll give it another month. If after that time, you've managed to conduct yourself reasonably, then you will be allowed to live off-base, on a semi-permanent basis."

She began to protest, but Daniel stopped her. "That sounds reasonable, Sir. If you don't mind, we'll get her ... moved in, immediately."

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Wow, your place is wonderful!" Vala commented.

"Not really, it just isn't Stargate Command."

"Very true," she replied giddily. "So, what do you for fun?"

"Pretty much the same thing I do at work," he told her, setting up her temporary sleeping bag.

"Are you serious?"

"Vala, there's plenty for you to do around here, without trying to drag me into it. There's a TV, food in the fridge, and I took the liberty of having Sam buy some magazines for you. For now, while I set up your stuff, can you just find something to do?"

Without a word, she left the room, and sat down on the living room couch.

Daniel sighed again, putting down the sheets he was holding, and went to find her. He sat down on the floor by the couch.

She wouldn't look him in the eye, just sat staring at his bookshelf.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a bit stressed out right now."

"Then why did you ask for me to move in with you?" she wondered. "If you obviously don't want to be around me?"

"It's not like that Vala," he said, though he wasn't entirely sure that was the truth. "I asked for you to move off-base because you've earned it, and let's face it, you listen to me slightly more than you listen to Sam or Cameron. Letting you live here with me, it's my way of showing you, that you can trust us, and that we want you to be happy...at least as happy as you can be, stuck here with me."

Vala smiled at that.

"So," he said. "Wanna go shopping?"

Her squeal was heard from several blocks away, he was sure.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Weighed down with more bags than he could imagine, he wondered how the hell she'd gotten him to buy all this stuff for her. The bed and dresser were being deliver on Tuesday, so Vala would have to make do with the couch or floor until then, but there will still seven bags of clothing, three bags of make-up, four bags of junk food, and five bags of shoes, two boxes to a bag.

Daniel thanked his lucky stars that he made a lot of money traveling to other worlds.

"Hopefully, you'll start getting paid soon," he commented, as she lugged her spoils into his apartment.

Vala, however, carried the pillows she'd bought, carefully, as though she were afraid she might drop them.

"Really? They'd give me money?"

"Eventually. They offered Teal'c, but he declined. The Jaffa aren't a very materialistic race," he added, glaring as she gingerly set down the pillows on the couch.

"So, what are we to tell your neighbors, my Daniel?" she asked as they went out to the car for another load.

"Why should we tell them anything?" he wondered.

"Well, at least two apparently nosy women were looking out at you through their windows," Vala informed him. "I think one of them had binoculars."

"You're not serious?" He looked up at the apartments before him.

"I take it you don't know much about your neighbors?"

Daniel shrugged. "I sort of keep to myself at home."

Vala smiled. "I never would have guessed that."

Daniel gave her one of his "grow up" looks.

"I just think you should introduce yourself. And me."

"And what, exactly, would I be introducing you as?"

Vala shrugged. "Well, I don't appear to be related to you..."

"Vala!"

"Oh fine," she said, enjoying the flushed look on his face. "We shall cross that bridge when we come to it."

Daniel shook his head, closing the trunk to his car once they'd grabbed the last of the bags. Daniel tried to remember the last time he'd spent this much money on material objects, but came up blank.

Daniel found himself also searching the windows for open curtains, binoculars. Vala must have a better eye than me, 'cause I can't a single busybody.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Well, I hope you don't hog the covers," Vala joked.

"Vala, for the last time-"

"Hello, Daniel!" came a voice from behind him.

He turned around, and was surprised to see the one neighbor he actually knew. "Oh, hi there Mrs. Burnhartt. How are you?"

"Not too bad," she replied. "And who is your lady friend?"

Daniel began to answer but Vala cut him off. "I'm his fiancée, Vala. It is so charming to meet you. My Daniel talks about you all the time."

The woman chuckled with a gleam in her eye. "Well, it's about time our young man settled down, and you seem like a nice girl. Well, I just came out to check the mail. See you, Daniel. Bye Vala."

As the door shut, Vala kept her arm around Daniel's shoulders. "Well, hubby, we'd best get home."

Daniel glared at her with intense hatred. "What was the point in that?" he asked, removing her arm from around him.

"It was fun," she said.

"Fun? She's going to tell everyone in the building, there will be gossip for weeks, and then someone will notice you don't have a ring on your finger, and that we don't kiss or hold hands, and people will start to wonder about that, and before you know, they'll be calling me a mail-order-bride abuser, and I'll be getting hate-mail every other day!"

Vala simply stared at him. "Done?"

He shrugged. "Yeah."

"Can we go home now?"

"Yeah."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own stargate…blah blah blah

_Disclaimer: I don't own stargate…blah blah blah._

One week later...

"So, how are things settling in?" Landry asked.

"Quite well, Sir," Vala said.

He smiled. "Forgive me if I don't take just your word for it. Jackson?"

Daniel said. "Things are going fine, Sir. She's settling into the place just fine. In fact, she got her room all set up and organized just yesterday, though the bed was a bit of a hassle."

Vala gave him one of her flirtatious smiles, and Daniel rolled his eyes.

"So, are we a go for another month?" the General asked.

Vala looked at him with large pleading eyes.

"Yes, Sir," he said. "Vala has behaved herself...for the most part. I think we can manage another month so far."

"Very well," Landry said. "I'll put the paperwork through. For now, you're a go for your mission to P3X 518, you leave in 45 minutes."

"Yes, Sir!" Vala saluted him.

"Vala, you aren't in the military, you don't need to salute," Daniel reminded her.

"I know," she said. "It's fun."

Daniel sighed. Another month of this.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Cover fire! Jackson, dial the gate!" Mitchell ordered, attempting to hold their position.

"Where did they come from?" Carter asked, taking out the assailant attempting to charge her.

"Doesn't matter!" Colonel Mitchell yelled as they backed through the gate.

Once the iris closed, they turned around.

"I think we can safely classify P3X 518 as hostile," Mitchell told General Landry.

"What happened? You weren't scheduled to check in for another 2 hours."

"Well, the UAV didn't pick up any prominent life forms, so we assumed it was uninhabited. However, when we moved farther into the planet, these things...they were everywhere."

Carter interrupted. "I actually have a theory about that, Sir. We know from Atlantis that the Wraith can hibernate so that their life signs are undetectable. I think these creatures may have been doing the same thing, and our presence somehow woke them up."

"Could there be serious ramifications from this?" Landry asked.

"I don't think so, Sir. The iris will keep them out...I'd suggest we just stay away from that planet, Sir. Let the Ori deal with them."

"Agreed."

"So, if there's nothing else, Sir ... we have a movie night to get to," Daniel said.

Hank smiled. "Dismissed."

………………………………………………………………………………………

Vala exited her room in shorts and a tank top that said "kiss me I'm Irish". She headed to the kitchen to grab the chip bowls for the party.

Distracted, fixing her straps, she ran headlong into Daniel who had just closed the fridge with a bowl of jelly in his hands. Needless to say, they landed on their asses, and the Jell-O went all over them.

Vala expected Daniel to be furious, he always got so uptight when things didn't go as planned, but instead she heard him laugh. She looked up to see green blobs splattered on his glowing face. She'd never seen him smile like this. He had dimples.

She started laughing too, and soon they were throwing the globs of Jell-O at each other.

Vala scooped up a particularly large pile, and was about to throw it right in Daniel's face, but he tackled her to the ground, tossing the Jell-O from her hands and pinning her there.

Smiling, Daniel said, "Gotcha!"

Vala smiled back, but it was a different smile. Not so much playful as ... something else.

Daniel's smile changed too. He looked down at Vala, with her hair messed, in such a vulnerable position, and something in his head clicked.

"Sorry to disturb you," said a woman behind them.

Daniel and Vala snapped out of it, and looked up to find Mrs. Burnhartt standing in Daniel's living room.

"Um, Hello," he said, standing up, reaching out his hand to help Vala. "You, sorta caught us off-guard."

"Oh, that's quite alright. I was once young, too," she said, that same gleam in her eyes, like she was watching an old married couple.

Daniel had decided it was easier to go along with the "engaged" story than to tell her that it wasn't true, and then to explain why they lied, and then to explain who she was, which they couldn't say anyway.

"Was there something you needed?" Daniel asked his neighbor.

"Actually I was wondering if I could borrow your vacuum. Mine died again, and I have company coming over in a few days."

"Not a problem," he said. "I'll just go get it."

Daniel left, and Vala felt suddenly more awkward.

"So," the woman broached, "have you set a date yet?"

"For what?" Vala asked.

"The wedding of course," she answered.

"Oh! Right," she stammered. She was only used to telling the same lie once. "Not just yet, see I'm more of a winter person, but Daniel wanted an outside wedding, so we're still negotiating that part," she said with a smile, suddenly picturing herself in a long, white dress.

"Well, these things do take time if you want to do them right."

"Do what right?" Cam asked as the three of them entered the room.

"Oh, hey, guys," Vala said, feeling increasingly more awkward. "Mrs. Burnhartt, this is Samantha, Cameron, and Teal'c. Vice versa."

"Oh, hello," she said, shaking their hands. "We were just talking about the wedding."

"Wedding?" Cameron asked.

Vala mouthed go with it, and luckily Sam saw.

She patted Cam's arm. "You remember, the wedding."

Vala stepped in. "Yes, I thought Daniel already asked you to be a groomsman," she said, winking.

"Right," he said, finally catching on. "Of course. A lot has happened today, it must have slipped my mind."

Daniel came back into the room. "Here you - oh." He stopped short. "Hey, guys, I assume you've been introduced to my neighbor?"

"Yes, the bride to be was just introducing us," Sam said, an evil twinkle in her eyes.

Daniel cursed silently. "Right, well, anyway, here's that vaccum."

He handed it to her, trying hard not to look at his friends. He thought he saw Teal'c actually grin.

"It's been lovely seeing you again, Mrs. Burnhartt," Vala said.

"Please, call me Marge," she said.

Vala smiled again. "It's been lovely seeing you again, Marge."

Marge leaned in, whispering, "Those Jell-O fights are a lot better if you're naked."

Unfortunately, not everyone in the room was as hard of hearing as Marge was, and there was another resounding grin.

"Yes, well, bye now," Daniel said, dying on the inside.

She said her goodbyes to everyone, and when she was finally gone and the door was closed, Daniel turned away from his friends, and made to get the movie set up.

Sam spoke first. "Oh, so many questions."

"Well, it was sort of a joke at first, I asked Daniel what we would tell his neighbors about me living here, and then one came out and asked who I was, and I really just wanted to make Daniel squirm, but as you can see it's gone much past that," Vala explained.

"Yeah, that I get, but what's with the Jell-O?"


	3. Chapter 3

After the initial jokes and prodding subsided, they'd finally sat down for the movie

_Disclaimer: I still don't own stargate…_

After the initial jokes and prodding subsided, they'd finally sat down for the movie. Sam, Cameron and Teal'c took the couch, so Daniel and Vala shared the chair. It was just big enough for them to sit semi-comfortably, but Vala's legs were stretched across his, and every once in a while, Daniel would catch himself rubbing her leg instead of just resting his arms there.

He could only imagine what the others must be thinking. It wasn't as though he'd never thought of Vala in a sexual way, just never in a romantic way.

They were watching Vala's favorite movie, The Wizard of Oz, and every so often he would catch her humming along to the songs, or mouthing the words. He wondered if she knew she was doing it.

After the movie ended, and Dorothy got to go home, it was time for poker. Vala loved poker. Whether it was a full house or a royal flush, she loved playing with the cards, and loved even more winning. They of course played with fake money, as both Vala and Teal'c were so good at it, they would all go home broke otherwise. Especially Sam.

So of course, the only way to keep Vala interested in the game, was to get her liquored up.

"Oh come on! It's not like we made the Jell-O to fight with! She ran into me!"

"Oh, not even, you ran into me!" She made to hit him but it came out a shove.

Sam laughed.

"Oh come on you two lovebirds," Cameron said. "Kiss and make up!"

Daniel tried to laugh that off, but Vala actually climbed into his lap and laid one on him.

After a few seconds they split apart, both a little surprised.

"My turn, my turn!" Mitchell said, smiling.

Vala snapped out of it. "You wish," she said, sitting back in her chair. "Ask me to marry you and then we'll talk," she joked.

The rest of the night was one big blur of laughs, jokingly called Daniel and Vala's engagement party.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Daniel had a headache before he even woke up. He was laying in his bed, almost falling off, so he rolled over, hitting someone with his arm as he went.

"Ow!" she said.

He looked over to see Vala beside him in her bra and underwear. He thought she would wake up after he hit her, but she didn't, so he just looked at her. Her makeup had run, she had the word 'bride' written on her forehead, she still had dried bits of Jell-O in it, and though he'd seen and felt her body before, on the Prometheus incident, he couldn't remember her ever looking that good.

"Vala?" he said.

"Good morning, Daniel," she said back, eyes still closed.

"What are you doing in my bed?" he asked.

"I'm not in your bed. You're in my bed," she corrected him.

"Open your eyes," he suggested.

She moaned in protest before finally doing so. Looking around, she seemed just as confused as him. And then she noticed her lack of clothes.

"Huh," she said, and then laid her head back down to go to sleep.

"Vala," Daniel said, trying to poke her awake.

"Blah," she said sleepily, pushing his hand away.

"Aren't you the least bit curious as to why you're in my bed half-naked?"

"Yep," she said, still trying to sleep.

Daniel looked at her, now almost laughing. "You look to me as though you aren't?"

"Ok, then."

Daniel got up, one hand to his head from the head-rush, and went to the bathroom to get Advil. He heard snoring coming from the tub, and opened the curtain to see Teal'c sleeping in the tub. His head hurt more thinking about that, so he went out into the kitchen to get a glass of water, and heard more snoring coming from the living room. So he went in there to find Sam and Cam, asleep on the couch in each other's arms, with the words best man and maid of honor written on their faces. For some reason that didn't hurt his head so much.

As he passed the mirror on his way back to the bedroom, he noticed he too, had writing on his face. 'Groom' was spelled in big black letters across his forehead.

"So, last night was at least fun," he said to himself.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Sam and Cam were the first ones to join him in the kitchen, having been woken by the sounds of him making breakfast.

"Do you have to be so loud?" Sam asked, holding her head.

Daniel pointed to the bottle of Advil he'd left on the table. She offered some to Cam, but he declined. "I can hold my beer a bit better than you."

"So, then, would you care to fill me in on what happened last night?" Daniel asked him, cracking eggs into a bowl. "And why this marker seems to be permanent?"

Mitchell smiled. "Last night was fun," he said. "Teal'c conked out first, would you believe it...I guess it was it first time drinking, now that he doesn't have a symbiote. Apparently the tub was cool, so he went in there. Then me, Sam, you and Vala played a drinking game, long story short, we all got lots of fun writing on our heads, then Vala wanted to play strip poker but Sam talked her out of it, so then she said she was gonna play strip Vala, and took her shirt and pants off, which was when you carried her off to bed. You never came back out, so me and Sam fell asleep, I guess."

He looked at his friends. "Why permanent marker?"

"It was a dare," Cam said.

"So, what are you making?" Sam asked.

"Bacon and Eggs," he said.

"Sounds good," she said, as he put the bacon on.

Within seconds Vala came out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

"I want to be buried with that smell," she groaned, grabbing Advil off the table.

"Well, hello Mrs. Jackson, how are you this morning," Cam joked, getting a playful nudge from Sam.

Vala had to shake her head at the pull in her stomach that sentence gave her. "Go away, you horrible man...Daniel, I need bacon."

"It's coming, keep your pants on."

Everyone in the room laughed at that, as Vala still had only her undergarments on.

"Oh, come on, you know you like it," she said, scooping a barely cooked piece of bacon from the pan.

Though they set aside an extra dish for him, Teal'c didn't get up until after they'd finished eating. When he finally got out of the tub, it was already past noon.

He came into the living room, rubbing his head. "You must not allow me to drink anymore."

"I agree, you make a lousy drunk," Cam commented.

Teal'c looked up, noticing the marker on their faces. "Did that happen last night or this morning?"

They went cross-eyed looking at their foreheads. "Last night."

"Do I -?"

"Nope ... you went to sleep before that," Cam said.

Teal'c sat on the couch with a thud.

"You alright, Muscles?" Vala asked, sucking the last of the milkshake Daniel had made her through the straw.

"I will be fine," he said.

"Just as long as you stay away from the booze," Daniel added.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I still don't own stargate…

_Disclaimer: I still don't own stargate…_

1 week after the "engagement party", Daniel and Vala got into a pretty good routine. Daniel wasn't used to sharing his hot water, his towel (how could they forget to buy her a towel?), or the remote control, but they'd worked things out pretty evenly. As long as Vala didn't walk in on him while he was in the shower - something she had done twice, he suspected not by accident - they were doing pretty good.

They'd received fruit baskets from neighbors that Daniel has never even spoken too, and a box of Jell-O mix that Vala suspected was from Marge. So basically, the entire apartment had been told that Daniel Jackson's fiancé had moved in with him.

"You know what I just realized?" she said to him one afternoon after they'd gotten back from P3K 314.

"What's that?"

"The day before the end of my one month probation is my birthday," she said, remember past birthdays, where her Dad would come home and bring her something pretty.

Daniel did the math in his head. "You're birthday is on the 1st of January?"

"Happy new year, gorgeous," she said fondly.

"Well, it's going to be one heck of a party. Maybe we shouldn't have a Christmas party..."

Her eyes grew wide. "No, we have to have a Christmas party! We didn't have Christmas where I'm from. We can just hang out here for my birthday, I don't need a party for that, I've had ... a few birthdays."

Daniel smiled. "Okay then, I'll ask Marge if she can come over and help you put up decorations. Maybe tell her that Christmas was taboo in your family, so this is the first you've been able to celebrate it."

"Christmas is still a few weeks away," she reminded him.

He gave her one of his just understand it looks and said, "I like planning."

………………………………………………………………………………………

2nd week into her probation, Vala had discovered the cartoon channel. Her favorite shows were Scooby Do and Sailor Moon, even though Daniel tried explaining to her that they were kids shows. Countless times he actually caught himself watching with her, while he was going over notes from texts they'd found on other planets, or surfing the web for a particular name. He would also find himself not just watching the shows with her, but watching her as well. The way her face lit up when she saw something she liked. The way her nose crinkled when she thought something was strange. The way that she would talk back and forth with the characters, arguing her point endlessly. He also began to think that she had developed a crush on Tuxedo Mask. He thought he should keep that in mind when it came time to buy her a Christmas present.

With the holidays coming, gate travel had been slowed. SG-1 was down to one mission per week, and they would be done next week, incoming travelers notwithstanding. All non-essential base personnel had left, and those who remained would be leaving the week after Christmas.

Having no holiday plans himself, General O'Neill came to relieve General Landry for the holiday, so that he could spend time with his family.

Daniel wondered if anything would happen now that O'Neill was back at Stargate Command, however temporarily. He had noticed that Sam and Cam had been growing closer over the last few months, and not in a brother/sister way. Cameron seemed to understand most of Carter's tech talk, and they had the military in common, and they were closer in age than Sam and Jack. Most importantly, neither was subordinate to the other.

Sam and Jack had been dancing around the subject of their could-be relationship for 10 years, while Sam and Cam had only known each other for two. The fact that they spent the night in each other's arms only confirmed that to Daniel, but he wasn't gonna say that to Jack.

"Daniel," Vala said, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"How come Shaggy's the only human who eats Scooby Snacks?"

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Ok, so I've got presents for Teal'c, Mitchell, and Marge, I bought yours earlier with Daniel, so all I have left to buy is Daniel's gift."

"Okay," Sam said, laden down with her own purchases. "What did you want to get him?"

"I have one thing that I want to get him already, but there was a special gift I was hoping you could help me find."

Daniel preferred to shop on his own. He hadn't had much time to self lately, now that he had a roommate. He thought he would hate having Vala around, that she would drive him insane, but she was growing on him. He had been trying to figure out the perfect gift to get her. Clothing was easy, but only if it was something that she would wear outside ... as in a dress or something. He also wanted to get her a box set of one of the tv shows she liked so much, but there was something missing...

And then it hit him, and he was off.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Week 3. Christmas. Vala and Marge had spent all day before Christmas Eve to decorate the apartment. Daniel promised to stay in his room while they were decorating, so Vala could surprise him.

"So, how are the wedding plans going?" she asked, as usual.

"Fine, so far," she replied. Then she smiled. "I think I might give in, and let him have the outdoor wedding."

Marge smiled. "That's how my husband knew that I really loved him. I wanted to get married in this beautiful white church, all my friends had gotten married there, but he had his heart set on Central Park. It was where his mother and father had gotten married. So I told him if it was important to him, so it was important to me. I can see the way you and Daniel look at each other. You love each other very much."

Vala smiled. A part of her wanted to contradict the old woman, tell her what was what. But another part of her kept smiling at the idea of her and Daniel getting married.

The two ladies cleared away space in the living room, for a dance floor, hung mistletoe at the door, at Vala's door (the guest room), Daniel's door, and in the middle of the dance floor. Snowflakes hung from the ceiling, they'd hung a wreath on the door, and set up lights all around the walls. They had a tree set up in the corner, where there were already presents underneath, which reminded Vala to give Marge her present.

"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything, Dear," she said, shyly looking at her present.

"I was told that Christmas is about giving, and this year Daniel's credit card was very giving," she said.

Marge laughed. "Well, thank you Vala. I just wish I could stay for your party."

"Me too," Vala said sincerely. She was happy that she'd made a friend in this nice old lady. "You've been such a great help around here, I couldn't have done all this without you. Thank you so much."

They hugged, and Vala poured as much of her feelings as she could into the hug.

"Well, I'll see you after New Year," Marge said.

Vala waved goodbye as her friend left the newly red green and silver apartment. "I hope so."

………………………………………………………………………………………

She knocked gently on Daniel's door, feeling sad now. He opened the door, a slightly sleepy look on his face, and his hair flattened down on one side.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she said, turning to go to her room.

"No, it's fine, Vala," he said, holding her arm lightly until she turned back towards him. "What's wrong?"

"What if they say I can't live off-base? Or worse? I just said goodbye to Marge, and I can't help thinking it could be the last time I see her."

Tears ran down Vala's face now, and she made no effort to control them, just submitted as Daniel pulled her into his arms.

They stood their for what felt like hours to Vala, feeling strange that someone was comforting her, and even stranger than she didn't mind. Finally, she got a hold of herself, and leaned back, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I don't believe for a second they would say you couldn't live off-base. You have been great, you haven't done anything, in my opinion, that would make them decide to keep you on base. Or worse." He paused. "What was worse?"

Vala wouldn't meet his eyes now.

"Vala, what?" he said, tilting her chin up so she was looking at him.

"Not living with you," she admitted.

Daniel didn't know what to say. "I mean, I'm comfortable here, and I look forward to seeing Marge every day, and living with you is nice. Safe. I just don't want that taken away."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Nope … definitely don't own Stargate…

_Disclaimer: Nope … definitely don't own Stargate…_

Daniel was surprised at her admission of fear, but he knew he would have to find some way to calm her.

"I understand that," he assured her. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. I promise," he said, holding her shoulders and looking deep into her eyes.

Vala was silent, her eyes fixed somewhere above his head.

"Vala? I promise," he said. "You can believe me."

She snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, yes I believe you Daniel, it's just...well," she pointed above her. "Mistletoe."

Daniel couldn't help but chuckle. Her first Christmas and she was caught under the mistletoe with her roommate ... but was she really just his roommate?

Keeping one arm on her shoulder, he leaned in and gave her a quick, soft kiss on the lips. When he parted, he smiled at the hazed look in her eyes, and went back into his room.

Vala couldn't help thinking _I hate it when he does that!_

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Come in," Vala announced, opening the door wearing elf clothes and a Santa hat, with a tiny mistletoe hanging from the puffball. Sam and Teal'c smiled at Vala's outfit, wondering if Daniel knew she had it, or if she'd ordered it with his credit card again.

"Wow, the place looks great, Vala," Sam commented.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"Thanks!" she said, beaming.

"So, where's your other half?" Sam asked.

Vala smiled again. "Daniel went to the store get those popping things?"

Sam smiled. "Yeah, Teal'c loves those."

Vala went over to the stereo and put on Christmas tunes. Bobbing her head a few times with the music, Vala attempted to get Teal'c to dance with her, when that failed, she went to the kitchen to grab everyone a beer.

The door opened, Daniel calling, "I'm home!"

"Hello, my Daniel," she said happily, taking bags from him and taking them into the kitchen.

Sam whispered to him, "You forgot the hunny."

He rolled his eyes at her before entering the kitchen behind Vala and setting his bags down.

He looked up at Vala, taking in her costume. leading up to her hat, with a bobbing mistletoe at the top. He swooped in quickly and gave her another light kiss.

"Merry Christmas," he said, smiling at the familiar look in her eyes. Vala and Daniel had gotten into the routine of kissing whenever they were under mistletoe, whether it was walking in the house, knocking on each other's doors, or saying goodnight. Unfortunately, not everyone knew of their routine.

"Um, guys?" Sam said.

"Yeah?" Daniel answered. Then he realized that they'd seen them kiss. More like, they'd been watching them. "Oh...mistletoe."

Before Sam could answer, there was another knock at the door. Vala ran to answer it, and seeing it was the rest of the boys, she kissed each of them under the mistletoe, before realizing there was an extra boy.

"Who are you?" she asked, after she had laid one on him.

Jack laughed slightly. "Jack O'Neill," he introduced, as she let them into the apartment.

"I assume you remember me, Miss Mal Doran?" Landry said.

Vala blushed a little, realizing she had also kissed him. "Yes, General. You know ... holiday spirit. Can I get you something to drink?"

The two General's said beer, and Cam elected to help, following them into the kitchen. Sam, after saying hello to both older men, joined them in the kitchen as well.

"Did you invite Jack?" she asked Daniel as she stood beside Cam.

"Well, I invited General Landry, and he said that Jack would be visiting with him and his family for a few days, while he was in charge of SGC, so I suggested they both come." He looked at the two Colonels. "Why?"

They were silent for a second, looking back and forth from O'Neill to each other.

"What?" Vala asked.

Sam sighed. "We were going to announce our relationship tonight," she told them quietly, and automatically put a hand over Vala's mouth before she could gasp loudly.

Daniel was both surprised and not. "I'm sorry, guys, I didn't know."

"We're not blaming you man, it just sort of puts a crimp in our plans," he said.

Sam added, "Obviously you two can't say anything. We're not telling Landry, we don't want to be put on separate teams."

"Yeah, no problem guys," Daniel said, giving Vala the look, and added, "Although you're going to have to pretty convincing around Jack ... he doesn't show it, but he's very perceptive."

"We know," Sam assured him, and the two of them went back to the party.

Finally able to speak, Vala said, "Are all Christmas parties like this?"

Daniel laughed. "Actually, they usually get much more dramatic."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: still don't own stargate…

_Disclaimer: still don't own stargate…_

Daniel, Vala and Sam were in the kitchen making dinner, prompting several jokes about Daniel's manhood, to which Vala would respond with graphic sexual innuendo, which might have been offensive if everyone, with the notable exception of Teal'c, hadn't been on their second beer.

"For our appetizers, we have potato skins with cheese and bacon," Sam announced, carrying two trays to the living room table.

Cameron took one, handing another to Sam before taking a bite of his own.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Dinner was amazing," Sam commented, patting her stuffed belly.

Cameron went to rub her belly affectionately, but luckily stopped himself before doing so, managing to cover it up by leaning forward in his seat and bending a little.

"I concur," Jack agreed, leaning back in his seat.

"Indeed."

"Well, I guess it's time to open our presents, then?" Vala asked hopefully.

Daniel smiled. "Of course," he said. "Everyone gather around the tree."

Vala giddily passed out the gifts: 6 for Sam, 6 for Cameron, 4 for Jack, 2 for Hank, 5 for Teal'c, 7 for Vala, and 7 for Daniel.

Hank got a gold compass with an inscription on the back from Jack, and a mega-phone from Daniel.

Jack got a model stargate from Hank, an Astrophysics For Dummies book from Sam, an action figure set from Daniel, and a golden knife with warrior etchings from Teal'c.

Teal'c got a joke book from Jack, a thesaurus from Sam, a battle-video-game from Cam, a mini weight set from Vala, and a clean-it-yourself kit for his weapons from Daniel.

Cam got an air fighter model set from Hank, Back to the Future from Jack, a bag of homemade macaroons from Sam, boxing gloves from Teal'c, a yellow jogging suit from Vala, and a Cowboys and Indians game from Daniel.

Sam got a Having Fun For Dummies book from Hank, a Fishing For Dummies book from Jack, an ornamental statue from Teal'c, a free day at the spa for two from Vala, a G.I. Jane set from Daniel, and a telescope with a small, almost unnoticeable inscription reading: "The sky isn't the limit, but you are. There's nothing better than you, Sam. Love from, Cameron."

Daniel got a "Patience Is a Virtue" mug from Hank, a "Higher Power of the Year" trophy from Jack, a "Test your I.Q. in Seven Different Languages" book from Sam, a Relaxing For Dummies book from Cam, and noticed two presents from Vala.

The first was an old book, written in Goa'uld, appearing to be a diary of Que-tesh's exploits, the planets she'd traveled to, and information she'd catalogued about both the Goa'uld and the Ancients. He went to hug her in thanks, but she told him to wait until he'd opened her second present. He unwrapped the box, not missing the gleeful look in her eyes as he opened the box. He pulled out the black cloth, running the material through his fingers, instantly knowing what she'd gotten him, both smiling and chuckling in his head.

"And here I always thought of myself as more of a Darian," he said, smiling at the memory of watching her look at Tuxedo Mask.

"So, what is that? Zorro?" Jack inquired.

Vala smiled. "Sort of."

Daniel hadn't been more sure of the present he'd gotten her than he was right then.

Vala tore through the first 5 presents, saying to each of her … friends. Then she found Daniel's presents and met his eyes before opening the first. She couldn't contain her giggle as she saw the schoolgirl-looking outfit of Sailor Moon. Tucked under the collar was a note that read: "Another surprise awaits you when you rest your head to go to sleep."

She folded the outfit back up, deciding she would look for her surprise later, when everyone else was asleep or gone.

Opening her second present, she gasped at what she saw.

A beautiful, silk, ivory colored dress, with small straps, a v-neck front, and a very low-cut back. The waist, she could tell, would hug her closely, and the bottom of the dress was cut unevenly, in many layers.

She'd never seen anything so beautiful in her life. She resisted the urge to swirl it around her.

"Oh, Daniel, this is gorgeous!" she breathed, taking in the dress a second, and then a third time. It got more beautiful each time.

"I thought you might like it. It's pretty and shiny," he joked, trying to relieve some of the built-up tension.

Vala stood, turning away from the people around her.

"Excuse me," she said, walking into her room and closing the door.

Daniel looked around his guests. "It was just a joke."

………………………………………………………………………………………

Vala held her head between her hands, bending at the waist, then sliding down her door to the floor. She'd never felt this way before. Not with Tomin. She's never felt so close, so dependent on one person before.

The tingle in her skin, the skip in her heart, the tug in her gut. She thought she might be falling for Daniel Jackson.

And then her head kicked in. _Don't be stupid. Don't get attached. How long do you think this is going to last, anyway? When you let people see you vulnerable, they take advantage of you. You can't let him get to you this way. Tell your heart to get a grip, and move on. He's your teammate; he's your roommate, nothing more. He's the guy you flirt with because it makes him squirm. Tomin could never have really loved you, because he never knew you. Daniel could never have true feelings for your, no one who really knew me could. Just go back out there, thank him, and get on with the rest of your life._

She stood up, shaky, wiping her eyes on the back of her green sleeve, and then she saw it.

One red, short-stemmed, perfect rose, laying neatly on top of her pillow. She walked towards it slowly, picking it up gingerly between two fingers. Underneath it was another note, reading: "I will always be there for you."

Her body stopped shaking. Her eyes stopped crying. Her heart stopped breaking. The future wasn't important, all that mattered was right now. And right now she had an amazing man in the other room, and a party to get back to.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Daniel walked over to Vala's room, raised his hand to knock just as she opened the door.

"Oh, hello there," she said, smiling widely. "Just wanted to hang up my new dress. Don't want it to get wrinkled."

Looking up, she said, "Oh, mistletoe."

Standing on her tiptoes, she gave Daniel a quick, hard kiss before hopping around him to rejoin the rest of the group just in time to say goodbye to O'Neill and Landry.

Before he left, Landry pulled Vala aside. "This is off the record, for now, but based on what I've seen and heard, I can't think of any reason why you won't be allowed to stay here."

Vala practically jumped into his arms, but controlled herself long enough to thank him and give him a quick, friendly handshake before he left.

She turned and ran straight towards Daniel, throwing her arms around him. "I can stay!" she cried, holding him tightly as he returned the embrace, lifting her off the ground.

"I can't remember ever being this happy," she confided.

"Me too," he agreed, spinning her around in joy.

Daniel had to remind himself that there were still other people in the room. He set her back on the ground, allowing one lingering hand to remain on her hip.

"Is there good news, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c inquired, eyebrow raised.

"You bet," he said.

"I can stay!" Vala announced happily.

Sam and Cam smiled, Teal'c bowed his head.

"Congratulations," Sam said, hugging Vala. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you," Vala said, leaning her head back in after Sam let her go. "Now that the two Generals are gone, wasn't there someone you wanted to announce?"

Sam whispered back, "But it's kind of pointless now, Teal'c is the only one who doesn't know."

"So?"

Sam straightened up. "Teal'c there's something Cameron and I have been meaning to tell you."

Cam smiled as he came in beside her.

"You and Cameron Mitchell are … dating," Teal'c said before her.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Okay, this was supposed to be a big day for us, and then you invite the Generals, so we tell you about it, and then have to keep to ourselves all night, and then we go to tell Teal'c and he already knows! Hey, did you guys tell him?" she asked.

Daniel and Vala shook their heads adamantly.

"It is … obviously, Samantha Carter."


	7. Chapter 7

Teal'c finally gave in, downing a bottle of Guinness

Teal'c finally gave in, downing a bottle of Guinness. The effects were almost instantaneous, and just as last time he went to go lay down in the bathroom, but Vala offered him her bedroom instead.

After clearing the living room floor of wrapping paper, Vala moved to the stereo, turning on soft, romantic music.

She watched as Cam took Sam's hand in his, leading her into a slow, beautiful dance.

Vala was so entranced by the music, she didn't even notice Daniel move in beside her until she felt his hot breath in her ear, whispering, "May I have this dance?"

Daniel led her out onto the "dance floor", capturing her smile with stars in his eyes.

Vala felt his hand around her back as she curved one arm around his shoulder, placing her other hand in his as they began to move together. She'd never danced like this before, but this is how she'd seen it done on the television.

Looking up into his calm gaze, she'd never before realized how tall he was. He stood above her, and if she wasn't wearing heels, he'd be almost a head taller than her. Smiling as she sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, her forehead tucked just under his chin. She could feel him swallow hard as she brought her hand to rest on his chest, and felt his hand cover hers softly, his thumb tracing circles on the back of her hand as she did the same on his neck.

They were vaguely aware of Sam telling them Cam was taking her home, and then they were alone.

Vala's eyes were closed, relishing in the feeling of utter contentment in being this close to Daniel.

Hoping they were somewhere near the mistletoe, Daniel tilted her chin up to face him, gazing dreamily into her eyes before he closed his, capturing her mouth with his.

He was brought back to their first kiss, when she had taken control of the Prometheus in the guise of an Kull Warrior. He had been freaked out when "she" had come onto him, and then oh-so relieved when he found out his captor was a woman, and not some slimy, man-beast warrior. And when she'd hit him, and asked if she should kiss it better, he had been almost tempted to say yes.

He was the first … well, second, to admit their fight on the ship had been sexual, especially when she'd straddled his hips and lain herself on top of him, then hauled him up so that she was sitting in his lap, and he'd had his left arm around her waist to keep himself balanced.

Their kiss on the Prometheus had been quick, surprising, and short-lived.

This one was different. Vala deepened the kiss, sighing into his mouth as his hand slid dangerously down her tailbone, then back up again to rest on the small of her back.

Daniel walked her back up to the wall, leaning his chiseled body over hers, raising her arms above her head as he kissed her jaw line, all along and down to her collarbone.

Capturing his mouth once more, Vala raised one leg to his hip, and he caressed her thigh with his thumb before lifting both of her knees to his hips.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping her legs locked in place, kissing and nibbling at his ear as he carried them to his bedroom, capturing her in a dip, prolonging their kiss before he laid her down on the bed.

Vala's breathing grew heavier as she watched Daniel remove his shirt, freeing his gorgeous chest for her to ravage. Standing, she ran her hands along his pecks, teasing his nipples with her fingernails, wrapping around to his back, where she felt his muscles tense as he unzipped her uniform. The idea of sleeping with an elf was more than a little disturbing.

Once they were both naked, they each took a moment to take in each other's body. Daniel had seen hers before, on the Prometheus, when he changed her into a ship uniform instead of her sexy, skintight jumper. He'd had the feeling that if he had to see her in that for much longer, he'd say yes to her sexual advances.

Once she'd gotten a good enough look, Daniel grabbed her and lifted her back onto the bed, sliding comfortably on top of her.

Vala, who had been caught up in the moment, was hit with a sudden realization.

"Daniel, stop," she said, sitting up on the bed, looking at him with fear in her eyes.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. "Did I hurt you?" He would kill himself if he did.

She shook her head.

"Then, what?"

Vala sighed. "If we do this, the military will split us up. General Landry will change his mind, one of us will be reassigned," she said. "I don't want that to happen."

Daniel smiled at that, a bit relieved.

"I'm serious!"

"No, it's not that I doubt you Vala, I just thought I'd done something, so I'm just happy I didn't." He snuggled closer to her once more. "And as for the military … neither of us are military, so we can be in a relationship. They would reassign us if our relationship put the team in danger, but they can't stop us from having feelings for one another."

Vala looked at him, feeling more naked than she had ever been. "And you have feelings?"

Daniel smiled. "Definitely."

Vala smiled at that, kissing him once more.

"Now, as far as General Landry changing his mind … he's not here now, and I see no reason for us to have to tell him about this. Do you?"

Vala shook her head, feeling stupid for not thinking about that.

"So, we're going to do this?"

Daniel nodded.

"Then you should know, Daniel … I think I'm falling in love with you."

She stared at him, trying to gauge his reaction. She saw him smile, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Well, I've got you beat, because I am in love with you."

They both smiled, and sank into perfect bliss.


End file.
